


Out Of Touch

by MilkTeaMiku



Series: Omega Bonding [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Nesting, Omega Keith (Voltron), Omega Lance (Voltron), Omega Verse, Scenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 05:03:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11867313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilkTeaMiku/pseuds/MilkTeaMiku
Summary: Keith wanted to beg him to stay, to beg Lance for things he shouldn’t have wanted. Touches, scent marking, undivided attention… he was too weak, acting too frantic. It wasn’t like he hadn’t spent his heats – and the pre-heat periods before them – on his own. Why would an omega even want another omega the way he desperately wanted Lance?-Keith is a broken omega, tormented by his inability to nest and his inadequate omega instincts. When his heat unexpectedly starts to approach, he goes to the only omega who can help him - Lance.





	Out Of Touch

Keith didn’t exactly _like_ his dynamic. It wasn’t that he felt he should be something else, because he didn’t hate it. But he felt like it didn’t suit him, or that he didn’t suit the image most people thought of when they considered it.

So he didn’t hate it, that he was an omega. Because he was, and that was okay. It just… didn’t suit him. At all. 

When he thought about omegas, his mind always conjured up someone like Lance. Someone pretty, family-driven, with a sweet scent and even sweeter instincts. Sure, it had taken him ages to get used to Lance. They hadn’t gotten along at all, not with the self-proclaimed rivalry Lance insisted they had. Ages passed along with a lot of tense Voltron moments before they were finally… _okay_ with each other.

Well, Keith thought that Lance was okay with him. He was very not-okay with Lance. Especially not with the alluring Lance his mind conjured up when he was desperate to relieve the tension built up inside of him. 

He was jealous of Lance for a lot of reasons. The other Paladins had said it themselves – Keith was the loner, and consequently, the lonely. Even on Earth he hadn’t been good pack material. He’d never formed a pack bond with his classmates, never had a relationship beyond acquaintances. His body and his mind had been so out of touch with his instincts that separation from people after his expulsion from the Garrison had done little to affect him. Normally, that sort of isolation left omegas weak or unhappy or sick. Pack bonds were healthy, and without them, people often became ill or irritable.

But nothing had really changed for him. He’d never had regular biological functions. His heats happened sporadically and unevenly, and were painful. Sometimes he had dry heats, something only sick omegas had, even though he was physically fine. But he’d never nested, never purred, never really scent marked or swooned for a handsome alpha.

He was broken.

And no one wanted a broken omega.

Being stuck in space was having strange effects on him though, and it wasn’t just because he was starting to think about Lance and his pretty omega scent excessively. They were a pack – Voltron. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but it had, and he could feel it. They were connected, not only through the Lions, but through their instincts. 

A proper pack.

And he liked it, he did, but the instincts were… new. He wasn’t dumb enough not to notice them, but they made him anxious. He didn’t know how to behave around others when he felt so alien in his own body. He wasn’t like Lance, the other omega on their team. Lance was effortless in his skin, and confident in his instincts. He never doubted himself when it came to his omega dynamic.

Keith wanted to ask Lance for help. Lance had sought him out when his anxiety had gotten to him a while ago, and somehow that made Keith feel like he could ask the same comfort of Lance. There was no doubt in his mind that Lance would be able to guide him, help him be a proper omega, comfortable in his instincts.

But he didn’t ask. 

He was the loner, after all.

As weak as it made him feel, he was sure his heat was coming. He could feel it in his gut. No one else had noticed, and they wouldn’t for a while, he thought. He hoped they wouldn’t at all. His last heat had been years before, and it had been uncomfortable and painful. The entire duration of it had been spent alone, without any heat-assistance objects or medication. He hadn’t been able to make a nest, too unknowledgeable and devoid of proper instincts. 

It was sort of different now. He only noticed his heat approaching because he wanted to… nest. God, he hated thinking about it. He’d never nested before, he didn’t know how to do it. Lance would know how to do it, right? Omegas nested before their heat to create a safe space where they could ride out the most vulnerable and trying times of their cycles.

He was being too pedantic, he knew, but it was the only thing on his mind. Training for hours did little to ease his worries. He spent too long hunched in the showers and pushing around his dinner and generally brooding.

It became too much, sometimes. Like that night, for example.

His room was sparse. He ritualistically hung his jacket on a hook by the door in a weak effort to make it more homely, but it did little to help. He had no quilts or pillows or things that were his, that were covered in his scent, or in his pack’s scent. He was too anxious to search for them, too unsure about what he could take and what he couldn’t.

He just… he just needed a place to hide, so he stayed in his room all day. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, especially not now that he and Lance were friends, he thought. Because Lance came looking for him.

“Keith, buddy? You doing okay in there?”

He most certainly wasn’t, but he couldn’t exactly say that. He rushed to push himself upright and smooth his hair flat, suddenly wishing he’d made himself have a shower that morning. “I’m fine,” he said.

Lance took that as permission to enter, and did. He looked as put-together as usual, and his sweet scent filtered through the room to ruffle Keith’s nerves. “You missed breakfast,” Lance informed him, as if he didn’t know. “And lunch. Also, dinner.”

Keith winced, turning his head away. “I’m tired,” he said. It was the worst excuse, but it was the only one he could think of.

A frown furrowed Lance’s brow. He sniffed the air as he came closer, and his frown deepened. “You smell… are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said, snappish. The harsh tone of his voice made him wince. He didn’t want to be mean to Lance, but Lance made him nervous in a fluttery, flustered way that he didn’t know how to navigate. 

Lance hesitated, but when Keith didn’t meet his eyes, he backed away. “Alright, but Keith, you know you can like, ask me for help, right? I don’t mind.”

Keith said nothing.

“Okay, well, I’m going to go now.” Lance rubbed the back of his neck and turned away. “Just… find me if you need me, I guess.”

Keith wanted to beg him to stay, to beg Lance for things he shouldn’t have wanted. Touches, scent marking, undivided attention… he was too weak, acting too frantic. It wasn’t like he hadn’t spent his heats – and the pre-heat periods before them – on his own. Why would an omega even want another omega the way he desperately wanted Lance? Omegas wanted alphas, someone who could protect them and satisfy their needs. Keith should have wanted an alpha, but he didn’t. He couldn’t even remember fantasizing about a knot during any of his heats.

God, he was so broken.

Sleep came to him restlessly that night. He was hungry and he felt disgusting and like he was going out of his mind. He tossed and turned for hours, unsure if he should seek help or ride it out. His nesting urges didn’t abate. He couldn’t shake them off.

That was the worst part, the instincts. They burrowed into his mind and made his skin itch and his heart race. He wanted to nest, to preen, to sleep somewhere safe surrounded by pleasing scents. His body and his mind alike ached for it, for comfort. 

It became too much. 

It must have been past midnight when he finally stumbled from his room, desperate and shaking. He let his nose guide him, and put aside his prideful worries. He just needed… needed help. Lance would help him, right?

He stood outside of Lance’s bedroom door without much recollection of how he’d gotten there. He went to knock, but couldn’t bring himself to. This was stupid. What was he even going to say if Lance opened the door? _Sorry I’m such a failure as an omega, I need help building a nest because my instincts are broken._ There was no way he could say that.

He was about to turn tail and leave when Lance’s door abruptly slid open. Keith startled, shrinking back into his shoulders.

“Keith?” Lance looked just as confused as he sounded, though he didn’t seem unhappy. He was wearing his pyjamas and had his eye mask pushed haphazardly up on his forehead, fluffing his sleep-tangled hair. “Is something wrong?”

The words pushed at Keith’s lips, begging to be spoken. Lance’s scent was so _soft,_ so alluring. He could feel his walls rapidly crumbling. “I don’t know how to nest,” he confessed, without meaning to. “I- I can’t do it, I-”

“Hey, calm down,” Lance said, as his expression softened. “You’re stinking up a fuss getting all worked up like that. Get in here before all the alphas come running.”

Keith allowed himself to be pulled into Lance’s room, but it didn’t make him feel any better. Lance’s room looked… _better_ than his. His silly lion slippers were at the foot of his bed – they all had those slippers, but Keith refused to wear them – and he had more blankets on his bed than Keith did. His jacket was hanging on the wall in the same place Keith had his, except Lance still had parts of those stupid space pirate costumes Coran dressed them in. It made the room seem warmer, more lived in. Maybe that was just because it was Lance’s room.

He felt like shivering.

“Are you okay?” Lance asked, voice low with worry. 

Keith wondered how he looked – face pale, cheeks red, dishevelled. Decidedly unattractive. He couldn’t form the words to give an answer.

Lance’s frown deepened. He reached out to rest his hands on Keith’s arms, and seemed unaffected by Keith’s flinch. “Now, don’t get offended by this,” he started, “but how close are you to heat?”

Keith startled, looking up with wild eyes.

“Just a question,” Lance reminded him.

Keith looked down. He didn’t want to answer, but the open honesty on Lance’s face pried the words from him. “I don’t have regular heats,” he muttered, “they’re usually dry, and I never nest. I’m broken.”

“Keith, you’re not broken,” Lance said. Keith was surprised by how heated he sounded. It was almost like he was angry, and that was a little frightening. “That’s stupid. Everyone is different, all omegas are different. Our heat cycles are different. There’s no right or wrong way to have one, no perfect or broken. Do you know all of the things that could disrupt a heat? Well, do you?”

He shook his head. At his silence, Lance continued.

“Literally anything can! Stress, the foods you eat, how much water you have, your environment, the smells you scent, the people you’re around, the medicine you take. Heats are literally the most fickle things in the world, and even though we can estimate them pretty well, there’s no way to judge how regular they’ll be. Sure, a healthy diet and decent amount exercise can make them more regular, but that doesn’t mean irregular ones are bad.”

The words felt meaningful coming from an omega like Lance, but Keith couldn’t help but doubt them. All his life he’d known he was broken, even since he presented as an omega. If he could have suppressed his heats forever without any medical consequences, he would have. “My instincts aren’t right, Lance,” he insisted. “My body wants to nest and- and have a heat, or whatever, but the rest of me can’t. I don’t even know how.”

“How many omegas have you been around?”

“What?”

“I asked how many omegas you’ve been around before. Everyone knows that omegas being around other omegas stimulates instincts. The more we see what instincts look like, the more we learn them. My Ma is an omega, and my older sister too. They helped me through my heats.”

“My father was a beta, and I didn’t know my mother,” Keith admitted. “I haven’t been around other omegas before.”

Lance sighed. “Well, no time like the present to learn,” he said. He pulled Keith closer, but stopped when he noticed Keith’s hesitation. “Only if you want. I just figured, since you came to me, that-”

“I want help,” Keith said. He tried not to sound like he was forcing the words, but didn’t succeed. At least he wasn’t begging. 

Lance nodded. “Alright. You just have to promise to tell me the truth, okay? Like if you don’t want something or you don’t like something. It’s worse to keep it secret, trust me. There’s no bearing with it, or anything like that.”

“Okay.”

“Good.” Lance brightened, and drew Keith closer to his bed. “You sit here, I’m going to go grab your sheets.”

“What? Why mine?”

“It’ll be easier to nest here, trust me. I used to nest in my sister’s room because there were more scents there, and I was closer to her that way. Until you get comfortable in your own skin, it’s easier to be around other omegas.”

Keith didn’t argue as he took a tentative seat on the edge of Lance’s bed. Lance disappeared a moment later, leaving him alone. It suddenly struck him – what’d he done. As much as Lance protested, there was no denying that he was broken. That something in him wasn’t functioning right. It didn’t take an idiot to figure that out. He wouldn’t have gone to anyone for help if he could have fixed the problem on his own.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Lance’s room did have more prominent scents than his did. Maybe it was because he couldn’t smell his own scent, but his room suddenly seemed almost clinical in comparison to Lance’s, like he’d hardly lived in it at all. Lance’s room wasn’t anything like that. Keith felt drowned in Lance’s scent. It was in the air, the sheets, the pillows… He made himself more comfortable, sitting further back on the bed, and closed his eyes. Already the panic in him was starting to abate, soothed by the comforting scent of an omega.

He could have fallen asleep like that. Only the thought of Lance’s return kept him awake, because he didn’t want to be caught red-handed in Lance’s sheets. He would never live that down.

When Lance did return, it was with an armful of Keith’s bedding and Keith’s red lion slippers (where he dug those out from, Keith didn’t know. He thought he’d lost them more than a month ago, and hadn’t bothered to try and find them again). 

“Alright, I’m just going to put these here for a moment,” Lance said, as he dumped the sheets on the end of his bed. “You can’t nest in those clothes, so I’m going to go find pyjamas. I can’t believe none of you have ever thought to use the Altean ones, they’re the best thing I’ve ever slept in. It took me ages to convince Hunk to wear his!”

Keith had no idea what Lance was talking about, but he didn’t protest. He was wearing what he usually wore, minus his red jacket, and sure they weren’t the most comfortable clothes to sleep in, but it had never really mattered to him. He’d found normal-ish pants and a shirt when he’d first gone searching the castle for provisions, so when he wasn’t too tired to change, he’d wear them to bed. He’d seen Lance wear blue Altean sleepwear before but hadn’t known there were similar clothes for all the Paladins. He’d always just assumed Lance had found them somewhere, that’s all.

Keith eyed the pile of sheets at the end of the bed. The sight of them all crumpled and disarrayed made him uncomfortable. Nests were meant to be neat and functional, comfortable and safe. His nest couldn’t be that messy, but how was he meant to fix it? He didn’t know the first thing about nesting, let alone about what any of his confusing instincts meant.

Still, he reached for the sheets, tentative. Lance had intended for Keith to nest in his room, so there was no harm in… fidgeting with the sheets, right? It wasn’t like he could keep them bunched up on the bed like they were. It was too messy. No omega would like his nest if he just left everything where it was, even he knew that.

He wasn’t quite sure what to do with them when he had them. He ended up laying the sheets across his lap, but he didn’t feel any more satisfied. In the mix of Lance’s scent, he could finally differentiate his own coming from his sheets, and it was surprisingly soothing. Having Lance’s scent mingle with his own cooled the ache building in his stomach.

“Alright, I found everything,” Lance said, as he returned with yet another armful of fabrics. He dumped the extra quilts and pillows he’d carried over from who knows where by the bed and tossed clothing at Keith, who scrambled to catch it. They were pyjamas identical to the ones Lance wore, but red in colour instead. “Put them on, and then you can add the clothes you’re wearing to your nest. That’s what I always do.”

Keith did as told without much fuss. He used Lance’s bathroom to change and took a cursory sniff of his clothes. His scent was quite heavy on them, something he’d never taken notice of before. He couldn’t really recall any of the times he’d tried to nest (mostly because they’d been disastrous) but when he had, he’d never considered using his own worn clothes. 

By the time he ventured out of the bathroom, Lance had taken charge of all the fabrics. He was arranging them with hyper-focused eyes, shifting sheets and folding back edges wherever he thought it was necessary. The nest was only just beginning to take shape, but already a deep instinct in Keith was perking up its head.

He’d never seen a nest. He’d heard tales of how omegas got possessive over their nests, and how if someone (particularly an alpha) found their nest before it was complete, they’d dismantle it and move it elsewhere. It caused the omega a lot of stress and led to an interrupted or shortened heat, something that was both unhealthy and uncomfortable (as Keith knew from firsthand experience).

But seeing Lance build _his_ nest, and knowing it was for _him…_ it made Keith feel strange. Good strange. He wasn’t threatened by Lance’s presence, despite the fact that he should have been. Instead it made him feel… good. He’d… _liked_ Lance for ages, even if he’d tried not to. There was little Lance could do that truly put Keith off from liking him; he somehow managed to enjoy their arguments, and Lance’s gross moments, and his stupid jokes. In fact, they only made Keith like him more, which was so ridiculous he couldn’t believe himself sometimes.

In a lot of ways, the other omega intimidated him. Lance seemed so perfect, especially when compared to Keith. Having him build Keith a nest was something Keith could have never dreamed of having.

“Aren’t those clothes much more comfortable?” Lance boasted. “It’s way easier to nest in loose clothing, trust me.”

Keith hummed, distracted by the sight of the nest. Lance had started assembling all the sheets on the bed along the wall and edge, creating a little barrier along the edges of the mattress. Keith clambered in and made himself comfortable, observing what had yet to be placed in the nest and how the current sheets were positioned. He felt little desire to change anything, but the things he did want to move made him hesitate.

“Just move them where you want,” Lance said, as he pressed one of the pillows from Keith’s room into Keith’s hand. “It helps to try and balance scents, and to have an even layer of fabrics – at least that’s how it is for me anyway. Some omegas like to pile them up near their heads or, like, along their stomachs. The weight of the sheets can be comforting, you know? Just depends on what you like, and how you normally sleep.”

Biting his lip, Keith glanced around at the bed and tried to picture what would be the most comfortable. He usually only slept with a thin sheet, even when it was winter. He liked the weight but could never afford to sleep with as many blankets as he wanted, not if there was an alarm or something that meant he had to get out of bed real fast. He’d been tangled up in sheets before and didn’t want to struggle with that again, so he’d just gotten used to one sheet.

But he wouldn’t be able to just leave his nest once he’d gone on heat. He wouldn’t be lucid, and his physical strength would drain away as hormones rushed through his body, encouraging him to find a mate. Heats were meant to be times of luxury for omegas, for comfort and care and protection. Maybe he could afford to indulge in that a little. 

“Just make them even, maybe…” He said, hesitant, as he shuffled the sheets around a little. He didn’t want to mess up what Lance had started – a perfect omega would make a perfect nest, right? – but there were little things that bothered him like a thought on the tip of his tongue. 

“It’s your nest, make it how you want,” Lance said. “I’m just… supervising. Yeah, that’s what I’m doing. Have you really never nested before?”

A flush of shame went through him. He shook his head. 

“Do you mind if I ask why? I know that every omega experiences their cycles differently, but it’s weird to never nest.”

Keith hesitated. “My heats were… bad,” he said, “back when I had them. They weren’t regular and were usually dry.”

Lance winced.

“I took heavy doses of suppressants when I was in the Garrison to prevent them, and when I left,” and when he consequently no longer had the Garrison-appointed funds for medication like the suppressants he needed, “my body was just not… regular anymore. I took the suppressants for too long so I didn’t really have a cycle when I lived out in the desert. I think I had one, maybe two heats, but they were both dry and short. Like two days, at the most.”

“That’s pretty short,” Lance admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “Were they painful?”

Keith nodded.

“Aw, Keith, I’m sorry,” Lance said. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that on your own.”

Keith was surprised by how earnest Lance sounded. No one had ever apologised for what Keith had gone through because it had never been anyone’s fault other than his own. He knew that, and yet hearing Lance apologise for it made him feel oddly relieved. 

“Well, at least you have a pack now!” Lance declared. “Though I’m surprised you came to me and not Shiro for help.”

“Why? You’re the only other omega on the ship.”

“Yeah, but Shiro is the pack alpha, everyone knows pack alphas are the best protectors of the pack,” Lance said. “He probably could have helped you, too.”

“But not like you can help,” he said quietly. 

Lance paused. Maybe he could see how Keith had shrunk into his shoulders, or maybe he knew that Keith was ashamed of himself, but whatever he saw, it made him shift closer, let out a questioning rumble. A strangled noise erupted from Keith’s throat, all raspy and hoarse from misuse. Lance tentatively touched the sides of his face, cooing again. Keith struggled to respond, drowning in Lance’s sudden closeness, in the feeling of Lance’s soft palms against his skin.

The noises they were making were ones omegas made to each other, and they made a very deep part of him curl with pleasure. He’d never made them before, not properly.

“It’s okay Keith,” Lance said. “I know it’s scary, but it’s instinct. You have to trust that your body will guide you into doing what is best. It’s how we’re all programmed.”

Keith huffed, uneasy. He wanted Lance to keep touching him in the same way an omega should want an alpha. Lance’s scent overwhelmed him, muddied his mind in the best way possible. He inched closer, wanting more. Lance always seemed so perfect, always so confident with his omega status. Keith had never wanted someone in the way he wanted Lance, and he didn’t even know when he started feeling that way.

“You alright, Keith?” Lance asked, his voice soft and teasing. Or maybe Keith was just imagining that.

Keith swallowed a breathy sound, leaning closer. He could almost taste Lance’s breath on his lips, feel Lance’s hair shifting against his own. When had they gotten so close? Was he moving closer, or was Lance?

“Keith?”

He swallowed again, lips parting ever so slightly. If he leaned even a centimetre closer, their lips would touch. He’d never kissed anyone before, but he really wanted to kiss Lance. It wasn’t just the pre-heat instincts messing with him, either. That was something he knew for sure. 

He closed that centimetre gap.

Lance’s lips were soft. His mouth was pliant under Keith’s, soft and omega-perfect. Keith felt like he was in a dream. When the gentle pressure of Lance’s mouth against his was returned, Keith suddenly jerked back, chest heaving.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped, whining and cowering as shame flooded him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t- I-”

“Keith,” Lance said, breathless, as he leaned across the bed to connect their mouths again. “Don’t just stop.”

Keith whimpered. Lance’s fingers curled into his arms, pinning him in place. He’d always heard stupid stories of how love-struck partners declared that their beloved’s kisses were breath taking, but he’d never believed it until then. Lance stole the very air from his lungs. Keith didn’t realise he was shaking until Lance’s hand trailed up his neck, palm pressed flat against his skin. 

“This okay?” Lance murmured, as he very gently scratched his fingertips across the back of Keith’s neck, dragging him back into the present. “I don’t want to take advantage of you or anything, but- you’re just so goddamn handsome, and when you came to me for help, I just thought- maybe you weren’t interested in alphas.”

“Are you?” Keith asked. He sounded like he’d been running for hours.

“Well, I mean- sort of? Dynamics just, they don’t- don’t bother me. Alpha, beta, omega, it doesn’t matter. I just like the person.”

“That’s… possible?”

“Yeah, of course,” Lance said in a rush. “Doesn’t matter who you like so long as they like you back, right?”

“I like you,” Keith said, before flushing, mortified. Why did he just blurt it out like that? “I- I mean, I’ve never really thought about the whole alpha thing because I’m not much of an omega but I like… other omegas,” he finished lamely.

“What do you mean, ‘not much of an omega’?” Lance frowned. He tilted Keith’s chin up, observing his face from different angles. “Just because your heats are irregular doesn’t mean you’re broken Keith, I already told you that. I can help you get back on a regular cycle, and not just because I want to get in your pants. We’re pack now, and I know how hard it can be to be an omega. I can _help,_ Keith. You just have to let me.”

For a moment, Keith was lost for words. “You want to get in my pants?” He asked, weak.

“That’s what you take from that?”

Embarrassed, he nodded.

“Well, we’ll work on the rest later then,” Lance snorted. “As long as you’re okay with- this.”

“What is this, exactly?” Keith asked.

“Whatever you want it to be,” Lance said. “I can smell your heat coming up, so if you want help with that, I’m more than willing.”

“I don’t know what it’s going to be like,” Keith said, ashamed. “It might be dry again.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Lance shrugged and shook his head. “Normal heats are painful with cramps and all that, but dry ones are worse. I can still help with that, if you don’t want to be alone or if you think you’ll need some help staying hydrated. Heats don’t always have to be about sex.”

“I don’t want to force…”

“You won’t be forcing me,” Lance told him. “Like I said, I’m offering. You don’t have to say yes. But I like you, and you’re getting my hopes up here, so if you could decide soon, that’d be great.”

Keith bit his lip and curled his fingers in the collar of Lance’s shirt. “I want help,” he said. Maybe it was selfish of him, wanting a perfect omega like Lance all to himself. But he couldn’t help it. Who could have ever said no to someone as pretty as Lance? Even if he was annoying, Keith liked him, and he couldn’t keep lying to himself about it anymore.

“Great,” Lance grinned. “Perfect. Okay, before I do anything else, I need to know your limits.”

“Limits?”

“What you want, what you don’t want. Heats lower our inhibitions and make it difficult to properly consent to anything. I’d rather know your boundaries now than have to try and squeeze them out of you later.”

Keith’s face burned. Lance was being smart, but he still wanted to shrink away from talking about it. At least knowing Lance was an omega like him soothed his worries a little. “I’ve never been with anyone before,” he admitted.

“That’s fine, I haven’t either,” Lance said.

Keith’s face coloured with surprise. “Really?”

“Do my charming good looks and stellar personality deceive you?”

“Well I don’t know about that, but your confidence is almost as loud as your ego.”

“I’m wounded, Keith.”

A smile twitched at his lips.

“So I’m guessing no sex, then?” Lance said. The way he casually asked it was embarrassing, but Lance didn’t seem to mind. “At least, nothing penetrative. If your heat is dry then I doubt you’ll want to do anything like that anyway.”

Keith nodded. “Right.”

“Is that okay?”

He nodded again.

“Okay. What about other sexual things?”

“I don’t mind,” Keith said. The words were out before he’d even thought about them, but it was the honest truth. “But only if it… comes naturally? Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, totally. As long as I know you’re okay with it, then it’s fine.”

Keith nodded, and let out a deep breath. “Okay.”

Lance was quiet for a moment. He was watching Keith, and seemed amused when Keith was too embarrassed to meet his eyes. After another moment, he shuffled closer. “Can I kiss you again now?”

“Yes,” Keith said far too quickly. 

Lance laughed, swooping in to join their mouths again. He pressed Keith back against the mattress, hands roaming to grip fistful so his hair. The slight pull of his fingers made Keith groan.

“Why are you so obsessed with my hair?” He muttered, not unkindly.

“What can I say? It’s recognisable.”

Keith rolled his eyes, amused. He felt almost giddy inside, and still vaguely like he was dreaming. He jerked Lance down by the collar but instead of kissing him, he pulled Lance down into the nest, so that they were side-by-side instead. He still hadn’t caught his breath, and seeing Lance in his nest did nothing to improve that.

“We still have to build your nest,” Lance said. There were spots of colour on his face that hadn’t been there before. “Or rather, you’re going to build it. I know you can.”

Keith wasn’t confident, but he’d try. He sat upright and looked around. They’d messed up the sheets, and now the nest would need to be bigger if Lance was going to stay. Keith still baulked at the thought of actually building the nest. He wasn’t confident in his decisions, but what Lance had already made was a good place to begin. 

“Do you think you’ll want more sheets?” Lance asked.

Keith considered it, and nodded. “I think so,” he said. Two people meant he needed twice the amount of fabrics. 

“Alright, I can go find some more,” Lance said. “I know where all the spare quilts are stashed. I can get some of the other’s clothes too, if you want?”

Keith paused to consider that, too. He wouldn’t say he wasn’t close with his fellow Paladins, but his friendship with Pidge and Hunk still felt new, and he didn’t want to impose. He was much closer with Shiro – they were almost like brothers. “Maybe a- a shirt, or something? From Shiro.”

“No problem, I’ll be back in a minute then,” Lance said. He slipped off the bed and stretched once, then fixed his hair. Keith was struck by the thought that Lance didn’t look like he’d been kissed enough, but maybe he could fix that later. “You just try and make the nest how you want, okay? It doesn’t matter if you can’t, I’ll be back to help after I get more blankets.”

Keith nodded. He didn’t want Lance to leave, but more padding for his nest was a good idea. He watched Lance leave before turning back to the nest. Lance’s scent was all over the place now, and it kept his most burdensome instincts at bay. He shifted a few of the blankets around and rearranged the pillows so the ones they’d been lying on were more evenly placed. 

He’d never expected this would happen. To think he’d been panicking only a few hours ago when here was help so close by… he really hoped he didn’t mess it up. If he built a good nest, then surely he’d be able to entice the pretty omega to stay. 

By the time Lance returned, Keith was well into nest building. He eyed the armful of fabrics and was given them by an amused Lance, who simply sat himself down in the nest and was content to watch Keith work. Keith made sure to take small sniffs of everything Lance had brought, and was glad to find most of the sheets were scentless, perfect for marking with his own smell. One of Shiro’s shirts was in the pile, too – Keith tucked it under the pillows were his head would rest, knowing the scent of someone familiar as well as his pack alpha would probably be comforting.

“You feeling a bit better now?” Lance asked, as he kicked off his lion slippers to sit cross legged on the bed.

Keith nodded.

Lance leaned closer to take in Keith’s scent. “You’re getting closer to heat, I can smell it. How do you think your nest is?”

“It’s okay,” Keith said. Not perfect and a little messy, but it was the first proper one he’d made, and he was as satisfied as he was probably going to get. 

“Sit with me,” Lance said.

Keith did. With so many blankets and pillows and clothes, his nest was soft and cushioned, and sitting in it made him feel relaxed. Lance gestured for him to come closer, and Keith did. He let Lance coax him down, Keith’s head rested in the cross of his legs. Keith closed his eyes as Lance ran his fingers through his hair.

“You’re going to stay, right?” Keith asked.

“If you want me to.”

“I want you to.”

“Then I will,” Lance said. He bent down to kiss Keith again, rumbling pleasantly. Keith returned the sound, despite sounding raspy, and turned his face into Lance’s kiss. Lance’s scent swelled, sweet and strong. 

“Thanks for helping me,” Keith said. “I-”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Lance said. “I really do like you, Keith.”

He purred.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://milkteamiku.tumblr.com/)   
>  [my twitter](https://twitter.com/fairydens)   
> 


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